Hi Len. Long time no "see" !
Hope you are well mate.
Im afraid Im very conservative and unadventurous with my choice of tyre..always have been since I joined this place and general consensus at the time barring a few of course, was that as soon as the Bird wore out, if you could last that long, the OE Dumplop tyres, then get some Avon Azaros ( other school said Bridgestones) on. So, I did and have stuck with them as they have progressed through the Storms, the Storm Ultras and now the 3D XMs. I sometimes wish I was brave enough to spend on a different brand just to see, but the Avons have been more than enough for my riding skills. Suppose the best thing would be to try someone else's Bird out with different tyres, but y'know, I just cant be arsed.
Just for info Len, and anyone else, the mileage on the 3D-XM Im getting is ridiculous compared to the previous Avon versions....basically the last 2 rears Ive got twice as much mileage than the earlier ones. So for my limited skills, they'll do me fine.